OregonLive:Thousands gather for peace demonstration

Thousands of people massed in downtown Portland Saturday afternoon to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Early in the afternoon, they began to assemble in the South Park
Blocks to listen to live music, share information and talk to one
another.

Then, about 2 p.m., they took their views to the streets in a march through downtown Portland.

Here is a photo slideshow from the event by Motoya Nakamura, Rob Finch and John Givot of The Oregonian:

Click to see the slideshow

 

Here is a video by Gilbert Crumble of The Oregonian staff:

Here is a video and photo slideshow by Rob Finch of The Oregonian staff:

Joseph RoseSusan Muller, a veteran of Iraq war protests, dances across the finish line with hopes of not having to return next year.

I caught up to the peace march as it snaked west on Southwest Salmon
Street, headed back to the South Park Blocks.
Hey, there was a band! "Not a jazz band, but a marching band," I was
told.
Near the rear of the march, the protesters stopped walking and began
dancing to the music, repeating a chorus: "Bring 'em home!" Susan
Muller was among the last protesters to trot across the finish line
with a protest sign. "I oppose this dastardly war," she said over the
music.
Muller also has been here before.
She said she was among the protesters arrested during the Portland
demonstration on the first night of the war. "It was a peaceful
protest," she said. "But I managed to get a concussion when I was
arrested. My head was shoved against the pavement by the cops."
Muller said she was never convicted of a crime. The charges were
dismissed by then-Mayor Vera Katz, she said.
Like many, Muller was disheartened by today's weak turnout. "I hope
it's not apathy or hopelessness taking hold," she said.
Of course, Muller, a Barack Obama supporter, hopes she won't have to
come back next year -- for the sixth anniversary "If Obama wins, I hope
he can end it quickly," Muller said. "But it's hard to see it. We're so
entrenched."

Joseph RoseIn the end, a marching band had anti-war activists dancing in the mud.

In
an effort to keep this blog "live," moving in real time, I had to stop
to file those last couple of posts on my trusty and slightly wet
MacBook.
Looks like the march has moved around the corner.
Hopefully, I haven't lost them.
Need to take a run in the rain.
Be patient. I'll be back.
(Was that a jazz band bringing up the back of the march?)

Joseph RosePortland Officer Brian Hughes with his fancy-dancy protest camera.

I didn't know this: Portland police for the past year or so have used a
spiffy new bike-helmet cam to film protests and marches in the city.
"Because we know there can be problems at these things, we film them,"
said Officer Brian Hughes.
But Hughes, who is following today's march on bike, said the city
attorney's office has been clear: If the gatherings unfold peacefully
without arrests and unrest, the officer must erase the footage when the
event ends.
"That's up to me," Hughes said. "I'm assuming that I'll be erasing
today's stuff."

A heavy rain is pounding peace marchers as they move slowly through the city.
I'm guessing there are about 2,000 protesters.
"This is crazy!" a young woman shouts out over the antiwar chants, her hair soaked and matted against her face.
"Keep going," her friend replies.
A photo from the march, before the sky opened up:

I'll try to find a dry place to file some new photos.

Joseph RoseThe march begins.

Walking through a mid-afternoon mist, a crowd stretching about four city blocks began marching down Southwest Madison Street.
As church bells rang, the antiwar protesters chanted: "End the war! End the war!"
So far, so peaceful.
Another chant, a call and answer, took over: "Troops!" "Home!" "End!" "War!"
After a block, the throng grew silent save for their foot falls.
Suddently, a man in the crowd took a shot at getting his fellow demonstrators started up again.
"The central bank has allowed this war to propagate! Dismantle the federal reserve," he yelled.
No one seemed impressed. "Um, that's an excellent chant," another man shouted back.
Laughter spread the march.
Sounding embarrassed, the faceless federal-reserve opponent responded: "It's evolving."

Joseph RosePortland bicycle officers wait for the march to begin.

As marchers crowded into the intersection of Southwest Park Avenue and
Madison Street, a small band of Portland bicycle officers was on
standby to escort the gathering through downtown. So far, the police
presence has been light.
Still, a man running to get in the thick of the pre-march crowd spit
out this warning to a young girl lagging behind him: "You better keep
up with me or those cops'll get you."
Sheesh! So much for teaching our children about that whole serving and
protecting thing. I guess I haven't experienced that side of the law.
Let's hope it's not a bad omen for this war-anniversary march.

Joseph RoseA Portland officer stops to check in on the Earth First! training tripod.

I have been corrected by a small band of Earth First! folks (who are
apparently checking out this blog).
That wooden-pole protest thing is actually called "a protest tripod,"
not a whatchamagadget. My apologies.
Actually, I should have seen that since it looks like a ... well, a
tripod.
A Portland police officer monitoring the crowd took notice long enough
to voice a some concern. "This is going to stay in the park today,
right?" the officer said.
Yep, the demonstrators said, not looking for any trouble.

Joseph RoseRemember
that goofy news clip from last week, when President Bush did a little
tap dance for the cameras outside the White House? Well, in Portland,
we have our dancing anarchists.

Remember that goofy news
clip from last week, when President Bush did a little tap dance for the
cameras outside the White House? Well, in Portland, we have our dancing
anarchists at antiwar rallies.
Oh, and for those wondering, there's nothing burning in effigy -- yet.

Joseph RoseDemocratic U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley

The clouds parted. The rain stopped. A patch of blue brought sunlight. And the politicians came out to offer up some red meat.

U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley struck a populist pose, standing on a bench to address the masses.
One benefit of a thin crowd: It's easy to get the attention of folks
milling about in the mud. About 40 people gathered around the Democrat
as he led them in a chant of "Get out of Iraq!" and a few anti-war
slogans.

Of course, when you have restless marchers looking for something to do, it's not hard to attract a crowd. Just saying ...

Joseph RoseEmma
Humphrey, Julie Hartley and Amy Francis take time out of filming Tim
Robbins' "The Heretic" to participate in the antiwar rally.

It's hard to say who came the farthest (or is it furthest?) for today's
gathering (the number of participants is edging up to about 1,000, by
the look of things), but Julie Hartley, Amy Francis and Emma Humphrey
probably get the prize.

The trio are from Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, respectively.

Of course, to be fair, they're not in Portland just for the march.
They're part of the crew filming Tim Robbins' new feature film, "The
Heretic."
"Really, this is getting old -- this war, not the protest," Hartley
said. "I wish people would get out a little more to protest."

"Then maybe we would have to keep showing up year after year," Francis added.

Looking around, Francis said she expected to see a larger crowd,
given Portland's reputation for protest and dissent. "I expected
something bigger, better," she said.

Joseph RosePeople
attending this afternoon's peace rally in the South Park Blocks had a
chance to use a communal megaphone to shout out whatever was bugging
them.

One of the most popular attractions at this antiwar rally: The open
mic, er, megaphone.
Anyone walking past has a chance to shout out whatever's on their mind.
Of course, they've had to take the celebration of free speech under a
tent as the rain pelts the crowd.
A few things said and heard so far:
"Impeach Bush and Cheney." (You had to know that one was coming from
this crowd).
"Socialism equals peace." "Ron Paul for president." (Is he still
running?).
"Did you arrest him because he was black or because he was muslim." (I
didn't catch the name of the defendant). "Save my grandson. End this
war!"
"Is anyone else here a Unitarian?"

Ah, free speech.

Joseph RoseCalvin Olsen of Clatskinie brough his umbrella and his dog America. "It's his first peace march," Olsen said of his canine pal.

Calvin
Olsen, a Clatskinie resident who is a veteran of Portland's anti-Iraq
war marches III and IV, says the sparse turnout has him feeling blue.
Yes, there's the rainy weather, but Olsen said war opponents need to
show their strength. "I'm feeling a lot of disappointment right now,"
he said, as rain dripped from his umbrella.

The drizzle has turned into a steady downpour. With the wet came the fishiest protest sign of the day.

Joseph RoseA fish analogy on the war, in the rain.

Joseph RoseJohn Barimo and his daughter, Sophie, 8, wait with 1,000 origami peace cranes for this afternoon's peace march.

John Barimo, a Portland marine biologist, wasn't sure if he wanted
to bring his 8-year-old Sophia daughter to today's rally. It might be
bit too heavy for the child, he said.
But she insisted on it.
"She really wanted to come here," he said, holding up a sign made by
the girl. The hand-colored square cardboard on a stick showed Sophie's
rendition of a multi-colored peace symbol and a black gun with a red
slash over it.
"It's hard for me to explain," Sophie said, "but war is so wrong. It
scares me. I don't want people killing people for anything."
Yes, her father agreed, nodding his head. "Even she sees how immoral this war is," John said.

He's is also documenting his daughter's participation in the event,
in case she is drafted some day. "She will have a record of how she has
been a conscientious objector to violence and war from an early age ...
for all of her life," he said.
Maybe she won't have to flee to Canada, he said. "Of course," John added, "she may feel completely different when she's 18."
John held a pole with 1,000 hand-folded origami peace cranes. The
cranes were the work of his friend, Linda Werner, who arrived for the
protest with three other people from Tillamook County.
"It took me a year to fold all of those," Werner said.

Joseph RoseA member of Earth First! gives demonstration on how to defy gravity and the war.

Joseph RoseAn organic food booth was among the attractions at a pre-march rally.

With a little more than an hour left until the march begins, all signs
point to a significantly smaller showing than last year's gathering
marking the fourth annivesary of the war. Last year, the same area was
packed with thousands of people, making it hard for activists to move
around.

So far, only about 400 people have gathered in the South Park
Blocks. It's a carnival atmosphere, featuring live music (a rap band is
pleading for the troops to come home), booths promoting a smorgasbord
of progressive and leftist causes and candidates, a live demonstration
by Earth First! on how to quickly set up a triangular watchamagadget to
peacefully block traffic and even an organic food booth.

Blame it on the rain (which has started to dot the pavement), the
cool temps, the surge or whatever. It doesn't look like organizers will
match last year's powerful showing.